Orange Pulls Out Of Kangaroo Broadband TV Buy

Orange have confirmed they will not be pursuing their interest in purchasing the assets of Project Kangaroo, the on demand broadband TV service created by BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV.

Earlier in the year it was reported that Orange were in talks to buy Project Kangaroo following the Competition Commission’s decision to block the creators from launching the project themselves.

There have been several companies interested in buying Kangaroo’s assets with Orange being one of the major potential buyers involved.

Orange’s parent company, France Telecom, said, “We can confirm that we are not pursuing our interest in the catch up TV service Kangaroo. After in-depth due diligence, we concluded that it was unlikely that an outcome which benefited France Telecom’s Orange operations would be met.”

It has been said by a source close to Project Kangaroo’s owners that the price of the assets has put several buyers off. The source said, “There were two major bidders but the technology is not cheap. It would be a multi-million pound deal which isn’t the most tempting prospect in the current climate.”

With Kangaroo’s future looking uncertain, the creators are now said to be in talks with Hulu, an American video on demand service that is backed by Disney, News Corp and NBC Universal. They are hoping to launch a UK version of the Hulu platform later in the year.